Transportation Security Administration Director John Pistole has taken a lot of guff from Americans who believe that their privacy rights have been trampled in the name of security.

Complain all you want. Pistole isn’t backing down, at least very much. Speaking to a National Press Club audience earlier this week, the Obama administration official acknowledged that the TSA “doesn’t get it right every time, but it is [their] goal to provide the best possible security in the most professional way.”

In response to a question from National Press Club president Theresa Werner, Pistole proudly noted that he has submitted to a pat down when going through airport security “multiple times.”

He told a story about “one of my recent international trips” when he set off the metal detector at “a well-known Western European hub.” A hands-on search of the director ensued, after which Pistole said he complimented that security officer on “the thoroughness of his pat down.”

Pistole regurgitated TSA facts and figures to back up his argument that the agency has had success in its security efforts. But with 450 airports to police and nearly 1.8 million people flying every day, he noted, “it is a challenge to provide 100 percent total customer satisfaction.”